A7IV - Video Record Settings for Newbie

[socalsonynewbie]

Hello everyone! I'm a relatively new user to the Sony A7IV, have had it for about 6 months now but do not have any experience with video. I'll be traveling on an international vacation to Croatia in September and want to take full advantage of this camera for video. However, after watching a handful of guides about proper settings, a lot of these tutorials are geared towards users who have video experience and have the capability of color grading and what not. Many videos suggested recording in SLOG3 and to "overexpose" since it would be graded in post. However, I don't know if I'll be going this far with my videos. If anything, I'll do some light editing and then post on social media. Should I still record in a setting as if I were going to professionally edit these videos? Or should I ?record in a setting that will be easier to deal with once I get it on the computer? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Snofru]

I am making videos for 23 years, since 1 year with the A7IV. I would leave the pro features for the pros, they only make sense if you have a professional video software and you are willing to spend a lot of time with it - for only relative small improvements (my opinion).

I would select XAVC HS 4K with 60p and 75M 4:2:0 10bit which will give excellent quality. You will have a crop of factor 1.5 with this, meaning a 50mm lens will look like 75mm. If you don't want to have this crop I would recommend XAVC S 4K 30p 100M 4:2:0 8bit.

Anything with 4:2:2 is difficult to play on a computer or on a TV and also difficult to cut with a software (needs a lot of PC power), so I would not recommend it in your case. Just like using the profiles.

[socalsonynewbie]

3 hours ago, Snofru said:

I am making videos for 23 years, since 1 year with the A7IV. I would leave the pro features for the pros, they only make sense if you have a professional video software and you are willing to spend a lot of time with it - for only relative small improvements (my opinion).

I would select XAVC HS 4K with 60p and 75M 4:2:0 10bit which will give excellent quality. You will have a crop of factor 1.5 with this, meaning a 50mm lens will look like 75mm. If you don't want to have this crop I would recommend XAVC S 4K 30p 100M 4:2:0 8bit.

Anything with 4:2:2 is difficult to play on a computer or on a TV and also difficult to cut with a software (needs a lot of PC power), so I would not recommend it in your case. Just like using the profiles.

Thank you so much for the input and settings recommendations. If anyone else can chime in, I would love some additional information. My computer is relatively new but don't think it has the capability of performing heavy load video editing and I don't necessarily have the time or money to invest in video specific equipment and editing.